Moe's Confetti

[sparroa]

I just finished smoking this John Patton burley blend in a new cob.
As my first straight burley, I must say it was a positive experience. A no-frills, well-behaved tobacco with little or no top note that my senses could pick up. It was very mild in terms of flavour and strength alike; I can see this being a good blend on the move, because it was low maintenance and undemanding. I can see it biting you if you treat it badly, but what tobacco won't? It was a decent moisture directly out of my bulk bag so I never bothered to dry it. Smoked quickly and cleanly; the strongest flavour I experienced was a pronounced taste of coffee immediately upon my charring light, never to occur again. It wasn't anywhere near as sweet as the other natural tobaccos I've tried which is par for the course, to my understanding. As I've only had one bowl and I'm not familiar with this style of tobacco, I may have missed some complexities but for the most part it was a pleasant if monochromatic smoke. I wasn't struck by the classic burley adjective "nutty" as my defining impression, but again there was nothing to really grab my attention. Left a very neutral room note. I liked this; being generous, I'd give it a 7/10 - plus or minus. The price was right and I bought 4 ounces. I don't regret that decision, I'll be happy to smoke it over time when I want something plain without a hassle. (If I had to pay Canadian prices, I'd pass over it for something more substantial in the flavour department) I'm willing to bet I will like it more with a few more bowls under my belt.
Do any of you folks have an opinion on Moe's Confetti? Have you enjoyed it? Where does it stand in relation to Prince Albert or Carter Hall? I don't know if its worth my while to pick up some PA - this may fulfill my burley needs in the future if they are similar enough.
Let me know what you all think!

 

[sparroa]

PS - Newcastle Brown, a Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich and Potato skins with cheese and bacon tasted even better after I finished my pipe of Moe's...

 

[cortezattic]

I'm an inveterate P.A. smoker and I couldn't stand Moe's Confetti. I'm really surprised that you describe it as a "natural tobacco", because I remember an artificial aroma in the pouch, and an unmistakable plastic-like, chemical aftertaste. It turned me off so completely I gave away my entire purchase.
Now I'm really interested in other opinions because our taste buds can't possibly be so different as to mistake this for a natural blend.

 

[sparroa]

I am willing to admit that it's in the realm of possibility that I am wrong. Perhaps "natural" is a fallacious word to begin with for my description, as all pipe tobacco is processed to one degree or another. I was not struck with an unpleasant artificial aroma - in the absence of that I suppose "natural" seemed the natural thing to say. My bad. I also didn't experience the aftertaste you describe. I suppose I don't have finely honed abilities for detecting the elements of tobacco. I will say, however, that compared to all the other tobaccos I've smoked this smelled considerably less "doctored". Truth be told, I guess I just don't know what burley smells like; smelling Moe's again, it smells a little more fragrant and sweet than my first impression, but it is not an obvious aromatic to me in the vein of Captain Black, Sail, Amphora etc. Thank you for your input, cortez. I ask you all for opinions as a way to check my own opinions and keep them balanced and better informed. I suppose I need some PA as a control sample to tell the difference between what I thought I smelled and what I did smell. I'm learning, is all I can say.
I appreciate further commentary, even a little debate should anyone feel so inclined.

 

[cortezattic]

There are plenty of authorities who will agree that to some extent all tobaccos are flavored or sweetened. I wouldn't really know.
Some will aver that all Burley's are cased in some way. The Burley component of P.A. is, BTW, sweetened and flavored -- so I'm not exactly a purist.
It could well be that Moe's Confetti is a middle-of-the-road aromatic: from your point of view, not overly cased; from my point of view, too artificial (chocolate, if memory serves).
If we all had the same perceptions and tastes there wouldn't be 3800 blends listed at TobaccoReviews.com

 

[sparroa]

From the hundreds of disparate tobacco reviews, forum posts, and web pages I have skimmed, Prince Albert seems to be the standard bearer for burleys everywhere. I have not smoked it so I am by no means an authority. I also haven't retained all that information and couldn't cite sources to save my life. I trust your judgment on PA over my own; until now, it was my belief that it was minimally cased and a benchmark for "real" unadulterated burley taste. (I too have read that all prepared pipe tobacco is sweetened and would otherwise be unpalatable) Without any point of comparison, then, it is easy for me to take Moe's for something it isn't; someone like you who is very experienced with PA may be more sensitive towards an "excess" of flavouring additives in this blend, where I deemed it to be natural in comparison to everything else I've smoked. I have heard chocolate described time and time again in burley reviews, it is hard for me to know whether this could be attributed to the tobacco or the topping. Perhaps what you deem to be chocolate I confused for some essence of burley I had dreamed up. Moe's was no McClelland Tastemaster - that's outright obvious artificial chocolate casing permeating the tobacco and wafting from the tin. Even if Moe's is sweetened considerably, to me it is more restrained and doesn't show up in the smoke the same way it does in my other aromatic reference points. (I've only had 2 latakia mixtures & 1 VaPer, so I don't actually know "natural" tobacco that well) So there is a big difference between my history and yours. I've had very few blends, and even the English ones had more sweetness to me than Moe's in between the leathery, smoky notes - presumably from virginias. If anything I found the flavours of this blend very non descript but pleasant overall; taken alongside its good smoking properties, I safely considered it to be decent if boring. We certainly all have different perceptions and tastes, it's what keeps things interesting I suppose. At the moment of writing, the original post was my opinion of Moe's Confetti - I'll see if it holds up under more scrutiny down the road. Thanks again, I'd like to hear you weigh in on what anyone else has to say.